


Hell in a Handbasket

by jackandsamforever



Category: The Blacklist (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Zombies, F/M, Loosely based on The Walking Dead, Not required to have seen TWD to understand
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-19
Updated: 2014-07-01
Packaged: 2018-01-13 01:41:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1208140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackandsamforever/pseuds/jackandsamforever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is an AU story chronicling Red and Liz in a zombie apocalypse. They were at odds when it began, so how will they survive when they only have each other and no one else? Can they learn to work together and figure out their complicated relationship while on the run? Possible one-shot unless you guys want more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

The first sign that something was wrong was her cell phone signal cutting out. If she had been paying closer attention, she might have seen the warning signs around her, but Liz didn't think anything of it because Sprint was her carrier, and they were always having problems with their service. She didn't know that there were gruesome deaths being reported on the news, or that people were going missing in droves, because she was too busy wrapped up in her own little Blacklist world. She was the last person in the Post Office, so she didn't notice that the world around her was going to hell.

OOOOOO

Liz stretched her arms over her head and leaned back in her chair with a quiet groan. She was finally finished with the mindless paperwork that went along with an arrest, and was looking forward to going home and taking a long and relaxing bath . They had been chasing The Joker for weeks, and she was so glad that he was finally behind bars. Red had been instrumental in his capture, but he'd left before she could thank him, citing some "crisis" that needed his immediate attention; so she'd returned to the Post Office and hadn't heard from him since.

She closed her eyes and let her mind wander as she let her head fall against the head rest. Her thoughts, like they had been for weeks now, turned to Red and her complicated relationship with him. Tom was out of the picture, having been arrested for crimes against his country months ago, and was currently on trial for execution. She had been heartbroken when she had first learned of Tom's crimes, but Red had been there for her from day one to support her. He had talked her down from an emotional breaking point, and had let her yell and scream at him when she couldn't hold it in anymore; then held her against him as she sobbed into his chest. He had been her rock, her foundation, her anchor in those dark days after learning of Tom's betrayal.

She knew she had feelings for him, but she wasn't ready to act on them. Not counting the fact that she didn't know how Red felt about her. Sometimes when he looked at her, there was little doubt in her mind about his feelings, but other times he was a closed book and didn't give any indication either way. He confused the hell out of her most of the time, and she was tired of his emotional manipulation, so she had recently begun to push him away. Not spending her free time with him, turning down invitations for dinner, and turning him away from her doorstep when he showed up unannounced. He had noticed what she was attempting do, and surprisingly hadn't offered any resistance; so that had pretty much confirmed her theory that he didn't have those kinds of feelings for her. She tried to push that last thought away though, it hurt too much to think about. She couldn't even fathom losing another man in her life, and would settle for just being friends with Red if it meant him staying around.

Liz leaned forward and opened her eyes then glanced at her watch. It was after 11:00 PM and her eyes were starting to feel heavy; she'd been here for hours, and she wondered why no one had come into her office to bother her the entire time she'd been sitting there. It was definitely odd, but she didn't think much of it because it was the start of the weekend and everyone was eager for a reprieve from the constant danger that their jobs entailed.

She glanced out her office window and saw that it was completely dark in the main room, and that there weren't any emergency lights on; it made the hairs on her arms stand up. Something was off, but she couldn't figure out what it was that was bothering her. Deciding she was finished for the night, she stood up and slipped her red coat on, then switched off her computer and desk lamp. She was bathed in complete darkness, so she pulled her phone out of her pocket and turned on the flashlight app. She heard the sound of the elevator moving up as she walked out of her office, and was surprised at how loud it was; of course she'd never been alone in the dark by herself at the PO. It was really creepy.

She walked quickly to the side of the elevator and pulled her gun out of her holster. She needed to be ready for anything or anyone that walked out of those doors. The elevator reached her floor, and she pushed herself farther against the wall, trying to blend in with the darkness. The doors slid open slowly, and she heard footsteps make their way out. As the person passed her, she shined her light at them, held her gun up and said in a low, deadly voice, "FBI, stop right there." The person's back was to her, and as she shined her light up to the back of their head, she recognized who it was instantly. It was Red. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Red put his hands up and turned around slowly. He was dressed in his usual attire, white shirt, gray vest and pants, but it looked messy and wrinkled, and his tie was crooked; which was something he never allowed. His features weren't the normal calm mask, but had a look of panic that she'd never seen on him before, "I've searched all over for you, Lizzy." He took a deep breath, then walked over and pulled her into a tight embrace and buried his face in her neck, and said in a voice that lacked his usual eloquence, "I'm grateful that nothing has happened to you."

She was more than confused, and pushed his shoulders back so she could look him in the eye, "What are you talking about? What's going on?"

He furrowed his eyebrows in genuine confusion, "You mean you haven't heard?"

She sighed in exasperation, "I don't know what you're referring to, but I'm tired of going in-"

He cut her off, "Lizzy, the world has gone to hell in a handbasket."

She punched his shoulder lightly and forced a laugh, "You're playing a joke on me aren't you? Ha, ha, joke's on me. You can stop now."

He shook his head, "I've never been more serious in my life. Let me show you what I'm talking about." He grabbed her hand and led her back to the elevator, then pushed the button for the parking garage, but kept a hold of her fingers. "Is your gun fully loaded?"

 _What an odd question to ask_ , she thought, but nodded and said shortly, "Yes."

"Good, because you're going to need it."

She chose not to comment, since it seemed like he didn't feel the need to explain to her what the hell was going on.

The elevator slowed, and Red pushed her against the wall with his body, then turned and whispered in her ear, his breath hot, "You need to be as quiet as possible."

The doors opened, and he peeked around the corner of the elevator for a moment, then pulled her out after him. They ran to the first car they came to and crouched down behind it. She could hear odd sounds echoing in the garage; sounds that she'd never heard before. It sounded like rasping and groaning, and she couldn't fathom what could be making those noises.

Red took her phone out of her hand, then stood up and shined the light in front of him and whispered, "Stand up and you'll see what I've been trying to explain to you."

She stood up quickly and peered over the car, then froze, her jaw dropping involuntarily. The light was illuminating something so grotesque, so horrifying, that she couldn't come up with words to explain its appearance. She stood there, open-mouthed, until Red turned to her, his face solemn. "That's why we're in trouble. There's been a viral outbreak, and people are turning into those "creatures", for lack of a better word, when they die. Last I heard, New York and New Jersey have already been overrun. It's all happened in a manner of a few hours time, and the "experts" don't know how to slow it down. They've already started setting up safe zones, and are recommending people head to those." He shook his head and looked at her, his teeth worrying his bottom lip, "I don't think that would be a good idea."

Liz still hadn't said a word. Her heart was pounding uncontrollably and she felt like she was going to pass out. She started to sway, and Red grabbed her arm and pulled her against him. He put the phone in his pocket, then began rubbing slow circles in-between her shoulder blades, "Lizzy, breathe."

She took deep gulping breaths, calmed by Red's soothing touches, and felt her heart begin to slow. She pulled back, her eyes questioning, "Where is everyone? Dembe? Ressler? Meera?"

He shook his head, "I don't know. Cell phone service cut out hours ago, and I haven't been able to find anyone; not even Dembe."

She heard shuffling sounds coming closer, so Liz took her phone out of Red's pocket and shined the light over the top of the car again. The creature was close, closer than she was comfortable with. She fumbled for her gun, until Red's hand stopped her. "I'll take care of it. It seems head-shots are the only thing that truly "kills" them." He brought his gun around and shot it in the center of its forehead. It went down immediately, but the gunshot echoed loudly around the garage and she winced. If they were attracted to sound, then that going to attract a whole horde of them. She tugged on his arm, "Let's go grab as much ammo as we can carry, then get out of here while we still can."

He nodded, then followed after her into the elevator. She was grateful for emergency generators. They rode up to the armory in silence, and Liz sagged against the wall. She couldn't believe this was happening. It seemed like a nightmare, and she wasn't completely sure she wasn't actually dreaming. "Red, I need you to hit me."

He raised his eyebrows at her, surprised, "Whatever for?"

She pushed herself off the wall and walked over to him, "Because I'm not sure that I'm awake."

He shook his head, "Sweetheart, I'm not going to hit you."

She grimaced, "Please, I need to know."

Red moved closer to her, his chest inches from hers, and cupped her jaw with his hand, then moved his fingers slowly over her cheek. She looked at him questioningly, and he leaned forward and kissed her softly. She was surprised at first, but as his lips slid over hers insistently, she realized that she hadn't moved an inch. She began to kiss him back, and pushed him against wall of the elevator, one leg in between his. She pressed her chest against his, and just as she was about to take things further, he broke the kiss off with a 'pop'. And said in a voice that was an octave lower than normal,"We've arrived, and we need to begin moving. It's not safe being out here in the open."

She blinked. She had temporarily forgotten everything, and groaned when it all came back to her. She wiped her mouth, "I'm still not sure that this isn't a dream, because kissing me is something you don't do in real life."

He grimaced, "Well you're just going to have to take my word for it, Lizzy. This is entirely too real."

Red put his hand on the small of her back and led her quickly towards the armory. Her thoughts were a swirling mess, flitting between their kiss in the elevator, and what she had just saw in the parking garage. The fact that she had forgotten herself during Red's kiss was surprising, and something that she needed to examine further when she had a second to think.

They reached the armory soon after, and Red found two large duffel bags and threw one to her. They loaded as much ammo and as many firearms as they could fit in the bags and their coats, then began walking back to the elevator.

As they passed a room, they heard the familiar groaning and raspy breathing. They stopped, and Red moved in front of her and shined the light in front of him. The light illuminated Ressler's decaying face, and Liz let out a strangled cry at the sight of Donald as one of those monsters. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she put her hand over her mouth to stifle the sobs. She didn't even know that Ressler had been in the building. The whole situation suddenly became real to her, and she didn't know how to process any of it. Red glanced back at her once in concern, then turned to Ressler as he approached them with his arms outstretched and mouth wide open, groaning and growling. Liz couldn't watch any longer, and turned away as Red raised his gun and shot Ressler in the head.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned her body towards Red, making sure to avoid looking at the body on the floor behind him. She kept reminding herself that she needed to be strong, and as much as she wanted to, now wasn't the time to break down and cry. There would be time to mourn her friends later. She glanced at Red momentarily, masking her heartbreak, "Let's go."

Red grabbed her around the elbow and they made it down to the elevator without further incident. It was nearing 2:00 AM and Liz felt the pull of sleep. Her adrenaline was starting to wear off, and after such a taxing day, she felt more tired than she had in a while.

They rode down the elevator and Liz leaned against Red's side, while trying not to make it too obvious. He moved and put his arm around her waist, then pulled her against him tightly and kissed her temple and whispered , "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I know he was your friend."

She could only nod, and sucked in a breath to quell the emotions trying to force their way out of her. The elevator pinged loudly, and the doors opened. Red released her, then led her towards his car that was parked a short distance away. They were halfway there when Liz glanced to her left. There had to be twenty of those monsters making their way towards them; they were way too close. "Red! Run faster!"

She saw Red glance over his shoulder, then quicken his pace. She couldn't keep up with the heavy bag of guns weighing her down, and she felt the creatures move closer to her. She wasn't going to make it. They were going to get to her before she could make it to the relative safety of the car.

Liz screamed as she felt a cold hand grab her arm.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as the cold, disgusting hand grabbed her bicep, a gunshot went off, and her arm was free once more. Her adrenaline kicked into overdrive, and she had no problem outrunning the monsters to the car. She watched Red stick his gun back in his pocket after shooting her captor, then run around to the driver's side of his car and open the trunk for her to throw the guns in. She tossed them in haphazardly, then shut the trunk and slid in the car just as the things reached them. They started banging on the window, their disgusting, rotting hands leaving marks on the windows. One of them started banging its head on the window, leaving little bits of brain matter behind every time. Liz was afraid the glass would break if they didn't leave soon.

She turned to Red, who seemed to be frozen in place while watching the monsters hit her window over and over. "Red, what are you waiting for? Go!"

He blinked and mumbled quietly, "Right." Then gunned the car forward just as another group of the monsters reached them. Red ran over a few of them on his way out of the parking garage, and they made sickening crunches, denting the hood of the car while leaving black blood stains on the window. Liz felt like she was going to throw up.

She glanced down at her sleeve to make sure it hadn't ripped her shirt and touched her skin, and let out a relieved sigh when there was nothing there. They reached the exit of the parking garage and Liz couldn't believe what she was seeing. Those things were everywhere. In fact, she didn't see another living soul. There were abandoned cars everywhere, and a lot of dark masses on the ground. She hoped they weren't what they looked like, but didn't know what else they could be besides chewed up bodies. Her stomach lurched, but she quickly swallowed the contents of her stomach back down.

Red hadn't said a word and Liz was worried about him because that wasn't like him at all. She turned to say something to him, but instead studied his profile. The overhead light was on, so she could see that his knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel and clenched his jaw. His body was rigid and tension was rolling off of him in waves; not that she could blame him. This situation was something that no one could have prepared for.

She reached out and put her hand on his bicep; it was rock solid, as if he was trying to rip off the steering wheel. "Red, where are we going to go?"

He glanced at her, the frown on his face deep, "I have a house on the outskirts of DC. I'm not sure that will be safe though, and there aren't enough supplies to sustain us for long."

Just as she opened her mouth to answer, he slammed on his brakes, hit the steering wheel and swore, "Son of a bitch!"

She rose her eyebrows at his language, because he rarely swore, then looked out the front window and covered her mouth so she wouldn't scream. The headlights illuminated hundreds and hundreds of the creatures in front of them. They had been walking around aimlessly until they saw the car and started moving slowly towards them. Red jammed the car in reverse and put his arm on the back of her seat, then looked over his shoulder to back up; his facial features pinched in concentration. She turned to see what was behind them, and saw that they were surrounded by thousands of moaning, groaning creatures. One of them reached the car first and attached itself to the hood, then began crawling its way up to them.

"Red, we're surrounded, where are you going to go?" She was losing hope fast, there wasn't a way out that she could see.

He took a deep breath and grimaced, "Well I sure as hell know I'm not going to just give up." He looked at her with tenderness in his eyes, and moved the hand that was on her seat to caress her jaw with his fingers fleetingly, "I have too much to live for." She rose her eyebrows in surprise at his confession as he turned back to the front and glanced to the left. Seeing an out, he put the car into drive and tore off down a side road that she hadn't originally seen. The thing that was on the hood slid off as he skidded around a corner. Liz searched the area in front of them and didn't see anymore of the monsters; at least there wasn't another horde waiting for them.

They weren't safe, but they were in the clear momentarily. She laid her head on the head rest and took a deep, cleansing breath. She needed to stay strong and not panic; panicking would only get herself and Red killed. She turned her head towards him, leaving it on the headrest as she said, "Why don't we just take your jet? I can't imagine the entire world is like this."

He took another turn, then said, "I can't leave Dembe behind. I need to find him before we leave."

They were beginning to reach the suburbs of DC. She still didn't see any live people, but there were only a small amount of the creatures wandering around. They must have all headed to the city to find food; that was the only explanation she could come up with for the reason that there were so few.

It was the beginning of fall, and Liz imagined the oranges and yellows that the leaves would be on the trees that were flanking the road outside. It was too dark to see them, but thinking about them calmed her. This was Liz's favorite time of the year, besides Spring, and she had looked forward to it. Not so much anymore though, because Fall meant that Winter was on its heels, and there wasn't power anymore to keep them warm on the freezing cold days and nights to come.

She sighed and said quietly, "I don't know how you're going to find Dembe in this mess, Red. It's almost impossible."

He shook his head, "No, we had contingency plans. He should be at the house we're going to."

"If you say so. I really hope he's there." She didn't think he would be, but it was useless to try to convince him otherwise.

"He will be."

She sat up a little and turned back to him, "We need to come up with a name for those..things...I keep calling them creatures or monsters and that doesn't sound right; they used to be people."

He pursed his lips and shrugged with his hands still on the wheel, "How about Walkers?"

Liz rose her eyebrows and nodded. That sounded as good as anything she could come up with.

"Walkers it is."

OOOOOO

They arrived at his house within thirty minutes; the rest of the trip uneventful. He pulled into the garage and killed the engine; the silence was deafening. She cleared her throat, but didn't say what she wanted to say, which was that it didn't look like Dembe had made it. He opened the door and got out and she did the same, then walked around the car and followed him into the house. He had a flashlight in his hand that she didn't know he had, and he shined it in front of him as he walked. Liz pulled out her cell phone and turned her light on so she could see more of the house. It was a modern house, with brick and siding on the outside, and wood floors and granite counter tops inside. They walked into the kitchen, and Red opened the refrigerator and pulled out a couple of bottles of beer. He handed her one and shrugged, then said in a low voice, "They aren't very cold anymore, but it's better than nothing."

Liz took it and opened it, then took a long drink. Red was standing in front of the kitchen sink with his back to her, staring out the small window into the dark. She was loath to disturb him, because he obviously wasn't in the mood to talk, but she needed some answers.

She set her beer down on the counter, walked over to him slowly, and slid a hand over his lower back near the waistband of his pants to get his attention. He turned his head minutely towards her to show he was listening. She took a deep breath, "Where are we going to go after this?" She turned and shined her light through the living room; it was empty, as it seemed like the rest of the house was. "There's nothing here...where are we going to find supplies?"

She turned back to him as he turned his body towards her, his chest inches from hers. "I'm not sure, Lizzy. I have other places that are more equipped, but they are a long car drive away, and I'm not sure we'll be able to find enough gas. That's why we can't take my jet; there isn't enough fuel, and I don't fly well enough either." His cheek twitched, and he turned his head away so he didn't have to look into her pleading eyes.

Liz reached up and straightened his tie and loosened it, then unbuttoned the button on his shirt to loosen his collar. He watched her, but didn't say anything as she pulled the tie over his head, then threw it on the counter. She reached up and unbuttoned a few more buttons until she could see his chest hair, then stopped. He hadn't said anything or moved for a long time, so she reluctantly turned her face up towards his. There was desperation and alarm in his eyes, and she didn't know what to do with a panicked Raymond Reddington. He was always the calm one, always the one with the answers, but it seemed like he was at a loss for once. She needed to be strong for him until he found his equilibrium.

She reached forward and pulled him into a hug. He went willingly and wrapped his arms around her waist, then pulled her tightly against him. She breathed into his neck and sighed; she was just glad he was here with her and that she wasn't by herself trying to survive.

After a few moments, when is breathing seemed slower, she pulled back and looked at him. The low light illuminated the blonde stubble on his face, and the shadows under his eyes seemed more pronounced; he had aged ten years in a matter of minutes.

Since he didn't seem to know what to do next , it fell to her to decide. "I was thinking we could stay the rest of the night here, and maybe wait until noon before we leave. That way it'll give Dembe time to get here if he's on his way. Once he gets here, we can make more concrete plans about where we're going to go, and how we're going to find supplies."

He nodded, and closed his eyes, "I'm sorry I'm such a coward Lizzy. I don't know what's come over me, but all I can think about is Dembe and whether he's alive or not. I simply can't handle losing him."

She was surprised at his emotional confession. She knew he and Dembe were best friends, but she hadn't realized that it seemed to be deeper than that; more like brothers. She ran her hand over his rough face and smiled faintly, "I can be the strong one for now, but I'm going to need your help eventually."

He nodded and caught her hand with his, then kissed her wrist softly, "Thank you."

She smiled as he gave her her hand back, then stepped back to get away from his intoxicating presence. She needed to focus.

"First things first, are there any blankets or pillow here? Anything we can use for a bed?"

He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter, "Yes, there are blankets, but I'm afraid that's it. I recently purchased this house, so I haven't had time to stock it with anything. The previous owners left the blankets."

She grabbed his arm and began pulling him towards the back of the house. He trailed after her, and as they reached the middle of the hallway, she said, "Where are they?"

He walked past her and up to a hallway closet, then opened it. She shined her light in it and saw multiple blankets, towels, and sheets. They must have forgotten to pack this closet up before they moved; Liz was glad that they did.

She pulled out as much as she could carry, and Red did the same. She walked back into the living room and threw everything on the bare hardwood floor. At least they would have some cushion to try to sleep on.

She knelt and began making a makeshift bed, and Red crouched down to help her. After a few minutes, she stood up to survey their work; it would do.

Liz looked at Red. He was staring off into space again, but this time she could see his jaw working.

"Red?" He didn't answer.

She walked over to him and put her hand on his chest, "Red?"

He blinked and grimaced, "Sorry, I was trying to think of some places we could go to find some supplies."

She nodded, "Good. I hope you think of something, because we don't even have any food. In the meantime, I think we need to try to get some sleep before the sun comes up."

He reached out and ran a hand down her arm and nodded, "I agree."

She turned and walked away, saying over her shoulder, "I'm going to use the bathroom." Then heard a faint, "Ok" as she rounded to corner into the hallway.

She finally found the bathroom after opening the doors to two empty bedrooms. As she opened the door, she heard a shuffling sound. She froze with the door halfway open and listened. She heard a quiet growl and knew, just knew, that one of those "Walkers" was in the bathroom. She pulled her gun out of her holster silently, readied it, then kicked the door open and shined her light inside. She didn't see anything, and was confused. She had definitely heard those sounds, she hadn't imagined it.

She walked inside slowly and shined the light at the closed curtain of the bathtub. It must be behind there. She threw open the curtains and almost gagged at the smell coming from the corpse that was lying in the tub. She screamed involuntarily as it tried to stand up, but seemed to be having a hard time for some reason. It was snapping its teeth and reaching its rotting arms towards her. She quickly shot it in the head, then took deep, calming breaths as she heard running footsteps come down the hallway. "Lizzy, what the hell?"

She turned to him as he rounded the bathroom door, "Why didn't we check to make sure none of those things were in here?"

He shrugged, "I didn't even think to. I apologize."

She shook her head, "Yeah, well it's my fault too. I'm going to go check the bedrooms, why don't you go check everywhere else?"

Red nodded and pulled his gun out, then walked away. Liz checked the bedrooms thoroughly and found nothing, and since she hadn't heard any gunshots, she assumed Red hadn't either.

She walked back into the living room and saw Red beginning to take his dress shirt and vest off. He turned to her with his fingers working at the buttons, "I didn't see anything else. I can't imagine how that one got in here, but any guess would be pure speculation. I apologize again, Lizzy, for being so careless."

She shrugged, "I'm fine, and it was only the one. I'm dead on my feet though, I need to sleep."

He nodded and slipped off his shirt, leaving him bare-chested and looking entirely too appealing to her sleep-deprived brain. He started working on his belt, while watching her stare at him, and she quickly turned away. She blushed at being caught, but what did it really matter in the long run? It's not like the FBI would fire her for getting cozy with him.

She quickly slid her shirt and pants off, leaving her in her bra and panties, and turned to Red with her arms crossed over her chest. "No funny business, Red."

He had been staring at her legs as she said that, but he quickly made eye contact and held his hands up, "I'm entirely too tired for any kind of "business" as you say." Then he knelt and laid down on their blanket bed.

He was stripped down to a pair of white boxers, and Liz had to physically drag her eyes away from him as she laid down next to him; making sure to leave plenty of space between their bodies. She could feel the warmth of his body radiating from him, but she resisted moving closer to him. She turned on her side, facing away from him, and moved around slightly to get comfortable. The "bed" actually wasn't that bad and she found a comfortable spot right away. She let out a deep breath and closed her eyes, already almost asleep. She was on the edge of sleep when she felt his hand on her ribs, "Good night, Lizzy."

She reached over and squeezed the hand that was still on her ribs. "Night, and thank you for saving my life." He didn't answer, but she felt him move closer to her. He kissed the back of her neck softly, and whispered against it, his warm breath giving her goosebumps, "No Lizzy, you saved mine. Thank you."

She didn't answer because she didn't understand what he meant, but pulled his hand over her stomach and pulled his body closer. She snuggled into his chest and fell asleep immediately; temporarily forgetting the deep shit that they were in.

Red fell asleep soon after, grateful that he had her with him. There would be no point in trying to navigate the hell that was waiting outside for them without her, but with her, he wanted to _try_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Red can't always be the strong one..so I wrote Liz being a bad ass because I think she totally would be in this situation. Red would too..but he's going to have moments of weakness too. Especially if he's worried about someone he loves. I received a lot of positive feedback about this..and the general consensus was that you all wanted me to continue writing this AU zombie world for Red and Liz. I know it's a little weird, but it's kind of fun to read and write something like this once in a while. So should I keep going? Is there still interest after seeing where I'm going to go with the story? If people want to read it..I'm willing to write it for the long haul. Thanks so much for the kudos and reviews. Please let me know what you think and if you want me to continue. Have a good day. :)


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning dawned gloomy and overcast, which fit the mood perfectly inside the house; and for the rest of the world for that matter. Liz had woken up in the early morning light, and hadn't been able to fall back asleep. Her mind kept playing the events of the previous day over and over, and she couldn't get the images of those monsters out of her head. When she had first woken up, she'd thought she'd just been having a bad dream, but then she had realized that she was lying on the floor of an empty house with Red sleeping next to her. She hadn't been dreaming at all, and she felt despondent at the enormity of their situation. They didn't have food, water, clothes, or fuel; and she didn't know where they were going to find any of that stuff. They couldn't go back into the city because it was overrun, and she didn't feel right going into other people's homes and stealing their stuff.

She turned over and studied Red in the faint light that came from the curtainless bay window. He was facing her, with his right hand outstretched toward her, as if he had reached for her sometime during the night. He looked tired, even while asleep, and she could tell he wasn't sleeping peacefully. His eyebrows were pinched together, and his mouth twitched every few seconds. His eyes were moving rapidly beneath his eyelids, and she could see little beads of sweat forming on his upper lip. He must be having nightmares.

She reached out a finger and wiped the sweat off of his upper lip softly, but as she started to move her hand away, he grabbed her finger and pulled her body to his roughly. Before she could get a word out, he rolled on top of her, straddling her and pinning her arms to her side with his thighs. As he reached his hand back to strike her, she finally found her voice, "Red, Stop! It's just me!"

His eyes cleared after a moment, and he quickly stood up from her and ran both of his hands over his head, then grimaced, "Lizzy, I apologize. I thought you were one of my enemies attempting to kill me." He glanced around the empty room and sighed, "I almost think that would have been preferable to the mess that we're in now."

She sat up slowly, still a little shaky from their encounter. It was easy to forget what a dangerous man he could be if he wanted to, which was a good thing in the kind of world they were going to be trying to survive in now. She nodded and swallowed, "What time is it?"

He glanced at his watch and squinted in the faint light, "It's only 7:00. Are you still tired, or are you ready to get up?"

Liz shook her head and hugged her knees to her chest, "I don't think I could fall back asleep if I wanted to." She shivered and reached out to pull the blankets over her. She watched as he bent over and picked up his shirt from the ground, then handed it to her. She shook her head, "You need it just as much as I do. I'll be fine."

She heard him sigh, "Lizzy, just take it. You're cold, and this will help warm you up quicker. You can give it back to me when you're warm enough."

She reached out her hand and took it reluctantly, then slid both arms into it and buttoned it up; it really did make a difference, and the smell of his aftershave clinging to it helped to quell her rising panic.

He sat back down on their makeshift bed and looked at her, but she broke the silence first, "Have you thought of any places we can find supplies at?"

His mouth twitched and he looked away, "Yes, but you're not going to like it."

She didn't have a good feeling about whatever he was going to say.

"Just say it, Red."

He turned back to look at her, his face hard, "You understand that the world is different now. We're going to have to do distasteful things to stay alive."

Liz huffed a breath in annoyance, "I know that Red. I'm not naive."

He tilted his head to the side, studying her, "I just felt like I needed to remind you of that. It's not going to be easy or enjoyable, and you're going to have to let go of your FBI mentality."

She was tired of his runaround, "So where can we get supplies at?"

He cocked his head, "There's a small neighborhood grocery story about a block from here. We can check there first, but I'm quite certain it's going to be mostly picked over by now. On our way back, we can check out some of the abandoned houses. Even if we don't find enough supplies by noon, we'll return here and wait for Dembe for a little while longer."

Liz nodded in agreement, then reached forward and put a hand on his knee, it was freezing cold, "Red, you need to get dressed, your skin is like ice!"

He glanced down, then put his hand on top of hers, "I hadn't noticed, but now that you mention it, that would probably be a good idea."

The nights and mornings were already cool, and it was only going to get colder as winter approached. It was imperative that they found warm clothes first. They would freeze to death before they ever starved to death, or were eaten by Walkers.

Liz reluctantly stood up and shivered as the cold air hit her. She didn't understand how Red could stand sitting out in the open with only his boxers on. She quickly unbuttoned the shirt that she wore and handed it back to him, then pulled her own clothes on and made her way to the bathroom. She didn't want to go in there, but it had a mirror and a toilet, so she would have to deal with the smell of the decaying body in the tub.

As she fixed her hair with her fingers the best she could in the mirror, Red knocked once, then walked in fully clothed, sans his tie. He still managed to make wrinkled, dirty clothes look good. "Do you mind if I use the bathroom?"

She shrugged and caught his eye in the mirror, "I'm sure we'll have a lot of moments with little to no privacy, so go ahead and do what you need to do."

He smirked, then walked over and used the toilet. He didn't seem embarrassed, and while listening to a man that she wasn't intimately familiar with use the bathroom caused her to blush a little, she needed to get used to it quickly. A few moments later she heard the sound of his zipper, and figured it was safe to look at him. She turned to face him as he walked up to her and said, "Are you ready to leave? We need time to gather supplies before coming back here."

She nodded, giving up on trying to make her hair look decent, "I'm ready, I just wish I had a hair tie. Hell, even a rubber band would be better than nothing."

He stepped closer, his face inquisitive, and said, "I used to watch my mother do her hair when I was a child. I still remember her doing some sort of elaborate twist that didn't require anything to hold it back. Do you want me to try with yours?"

She would try anything at this point, because her hair was in her face, and it could potentially cause her problems trying to get away from Walkers. "Sure, why not?"

He reached his hands out and put them on her shoulders softly, "I need you to kneel so I can see what I'm doing."

She knelt and stared at the white counter in front of her as he began to gather her hair up by combing his fingers over her scalp. It was soothing, and she found herself trusting him completely. She was too short to see what he was doing in the mirror, so she closed her eyes and concentrated on what his hands were doing. After a few moments, he patted the top of her head lightly, "All finished. It wasn't as difficult as I imagined it to be."

He grabbed her bicep and helped her to her feet, and she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She couldn't see what he did in the back, but it looked good from the front, so she was happy. Liz turned to him and put her hand on his chest, right over his heart, "Thank you, this may save my life at one point."

Red nodded, his eyes suddenly serious, "You're welcome, anything to keep you safe and alive."

She looked at him closely, and he averted his eyes as if he was attempting to conceal any emotion they might be showing. She watched as the light coming through the bathroom window moved over his face, highlighting his dark blonde facial hair. This was the most hair she'd ever seen on his face, and knew that it was only the beginning. He wasn't likely going to have many opportunities to shave in the coming months. She reached up and ran her hand over his cheek, giving in to the urge to touch the soft hair there, "Are you ready to go?"

He caught her hand, then squeezed it once and nodded, "Yes, I don't know about you, but I need water desperately."

She swallowed thickly, her mouth feeling like sandpaper, "Yeah, I think water is something we should find first." Liz pulled her hand out of his grasp, turned and walked out of the bathroom, saying over her shoulder, "Come on, let's go."

OOOOOO

They were in the car driving towards the grocery store that Red had mentioned earlier that morning. Liz stared out the window in shock and dismay as Red drove. It didn't look this bad last night, and she found herself wishing that it was nighttime once again so she didn't have to see all the horrifying things that they were passing. Abandoned cars with doors hanging open, scattered trash everywhere, and multiple chewed up, bloody masses on the ground; with what looked like pools of dried blood cropping up every so often. They passed hundreds of the Walkers, and Liz could only stare at them in disbelief, they were even more grotesque looking in the daylight.

Within minutes they pulled up in front of the small, older looking grocery store. Red killed the engine then turned to her, "I don't see any Walkers right here, but we need to do a sweep of the store before we look for supplies. Also be on the lookout for people that are alive, we need to be cautious of them too." She understood why, bad situations in the past had almost always brought out the worst in people. She nodded and turned to open the door, but was stopped by his hand on her thigh. She turned her head to look at him as he said, "Get your gun ready in here, then follow me."

She rolled her eyes at his over-protectiveness; she was a trained FBI agent after all. Though, instead of wasting time arguing with him, she pulled her gun out and chambered a round. She watched as he did the same, then he opened his door and stepped out of the car quickly. She opened her own door, then stepped out and closed her door as quietly as she could. It wouldn't do to attract unwanted attention from the living or the dead. Red made it to the front door in seconds, then put his gun in his waistband, pulled the sliding doors apart, and walked in. She trailed after him, her back to him as she covered his flank; she didn't see any unusual movement. As soon as she backed her way into the store, Red closed the doors behind her and turned to her. His face was all business, and Liz was glad to see that he was back to his normal self after his breakdown the previous night.

His voice was quiet as he said, "You go left and I'll go right. Remember we're not picking anything up until we make sure there aren't any surprises waiting for us." He glanced around and grimaced, "It doesn't look like there's much left here anyway, but we might be able to find something useful."

Now wasn't the time to argue with him about how he was ordering her around like she was an employee of his, so she just nodded and said, "Sounds good, see you soon." Then turned to her left to go down the first aisle she came to. He called from a distance, "Be careful, Lizzy." As if she didn't already know that. She hoped he wouldn't be this bossy and over-protective for the rest of their time together; it would get old really fast.

She held her gun in front of her as she walked down the second aisle, taking stock of what supplies they could still salvage. There were a few cans of food lying on the ground haphazardly, but not many. Whoever had cleaned out the store had done a good job. She turned down the next aisle, which was the "Feminine aisle" and breathed a sigh of relief to see it had been untouched. The people clearing out the store had obviously been men, and they apparently didn't realize that a lot could be done with a tampon besides being used for periods.

She stopped for a second to listen for any sounds before moving on to the next aisle. She didn't hear anything amiss, so she continued and rounded the next corner; never seeing the man crouched down waiting for her. As soon as he saw her, he stood up and pistol whipped her. She didn't have time to react as she dropped like a ton of bricks, out cold.

The man obviously didn't know that she had Raymond Reddington protecting her, or he wouldn't have come within a mile radius of either of them. He didn't know that he wouldn't be living for much longer; he made the fatal mistake of hurting the one person that Reddington cared about. If he had known, he would have never touched Elizabeth Keen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is kind of a cliffie, but I'm trying to set up the story. That takes time, so please bear with me. I would really appreciate any comments about this, and how you think I'm doing. I need to get a feel for what you guys are thinking. Thank you so much for all the comments, and thank you for reading. I won't wait as long to update next time. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be warned, there is mention of rape and minor torture in this chapter. So if that triggers you, then steer clear.

"Lizzie?" Red whispered, as he rounded a corner leading to the next aisle. He'd begun looking for her after hearing a strange noise, and then nothing else; he was worried. Seeing nothing down that aisle, he walked around to the next aisle and saw what looked like a little pool of fresh blood on the floor. There was no doubt about it now, something had happened to her.

He knelt next to the blood and studied the area around it. There were little spots of blood every few feet, so he stood up and slowly followed the drops; keeping his head low and his gun up.

The drops led to a swinging door that he assumed led to the backroom of the store. He put his ear against it and heard low voices. They were male, and there seemed to be at least two or three of them. He could only make out a few things they were saying, such as, "We need to hurry", and "We can all take a turn". He needed to get to her fast, before they did something that Liz might not be able to recover from.

He opened the door a crack and looked inside, but he couldn't see anything, so he pushed it a little farther and stuck his head in and looked around. The voices were coming from his right, and there was a wall that he could hide behind so they wouldn't see him coming. He slowly crept through the door and let it close behind him. The hinges made a small squeaking sound and he froze, waiting for them to come running; but they kept talking, not seeming to hear his slip-up. He walked over to the edge of the wall and put his back against it; the voices now loud and clear now. They were talking about raping her, and the anger rose up inside him like nothing he'd experienced in a long time. He looked around the corner carefully and saw that Liz was spread-eagle on top of a desk, with three men standing around her arguing who would get to go first. She was still fully dressed, much to his relief, but she wasn't moving and that worried him.

"Well let's get on with it then. Since I caught her, I get to go first." A tall, burly man with long hair and tattoos on his neck stepped forward and began to unbutton Liz's pants.

A shorter man dressed in cut-off jeans and a wife beater grabbed the tall one's bicep, "I say we flip for it. It's not fair that you get to go first."

The tall one ripped his arm away from the other and snarled, "Shut the hell up, Frank, or you don't get a turn at all. Now quit talking and help me take her pants off."

Red stepped out from behind the wall with his gun raised and said in a low, deadly voice, "I suggest you step away from her before I kill you where you stand."

All three men looked at him with surprise, as the tall one said, "Who the hell are you?"

Red smiled coldly, "Someone who you never should have messed with; and that extends to my girl you have lying there." He gestured with his gun at Liz.

The shorter one put his hands up and said, "Hey man, we don't want no trouble. We're just lookin' to have some fun with it being the end of the world and all."

Red pursed his lips and nodded, "Oh, well in that case.." He trailed off and shot two of the men in the head, killing them instantly; leaving Frank, the shorter one with his hands still up, alive.

Frank looked down at his friends lying on the ground and said in a scared voice, "Hey man, I wasn't gonna do nothin', I promise." He looked terrified, but Red didn't give a shit; he was literally seeing red.

Red approached him quickly and sucker punched him in the stomach. Frank doubled over and gasped for breath as Red brought his gun down on top of Frank's head. He dropped quickly, groaning in pain, then looked up at Red with pleading eyes, "Please, I'm sorry. I won't never do nothin' like this again."

Red moved over him and looked down, his eyes cold and calculating, "You see Frank, I don't believe you. I've been around the block a few times, and you're just like all the others." He stomped down on Frank's leg, breaking it instantly, as Frank screamed out in agony.

With tears running down his face, Frank started pleading with Red, "Come on, please, please, please, don't hurt me anymore. Please, I wasn't gonna do nothing, I swear, you have to believe me."

Red shook his head and sat down on the desk near Liz's head, "I don't have to do anything. I should just kill you now, but I want to give her a chance to take a little revenge out on you."

Frank sobbed harder and tried to sit up, but Red stood up quickly and kicked him in the shoulders; causing him to fall down to his back again. As Red watched Frank curl up in a ball, he heard a quiet moan from behind him. He put his gun in his waistband, then turned to Liz and put his hand on her forehead, "Sweetheart, wake up."

She groaned and kept her eyes shut tightly. Her temple was still oozing blood, so he dug a handkerchief out of his pocket and held it there; Liz winced and moaned even louder. She moved her mouth a few times, then croaked out a soft, "Red".

He reached his free hand down and took her hand, "I'm here, sweetheart, you need to open your eyes." He wasn't going to say her name in front of Frank. He glanced behind him and saw that the man was still curled up in a fetal position, quietly mumbling to himself.

Liz swallowed thickly and cracked her eyes open, then said, "What happened?"

"You were accosted by three men. I'm just relieved that I made it here in time before they raped you; which is what they had planned to do."

She squinted at him and held her free hand up, "Help me up, I need to see if I can stand."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her up, then helped her scoot to the front edge where she saw Frank for the first time, "Is he one of them?"

Red bit his lip and nodded, "Yes, I've disabled him and left him for you to do whatever you please."

She shook her head, swaying a bit and said, "You know I'm not going to do anything to him. I think you've done enough without me adding to it."

Frank turned over and said to Liz in a relieved voice, "Oh thank you for your generosity. I won't never do nothin' like this again, I learned my lesson."

Red stood up again, then walked over to him with a smirk as he said, "That's her choice, but you're not going to leave here today alive; you can count on that." Before Frank could say anything more, he pulled his gun out of his waistband and shot Frank in the forehead.

"Red, what the hell? You know I don't-"

He cut her off and put his hands on her shoulders, "Lizzie, he was a dangerous man who most likely would have done this again. All three of these men deserved what they got; I don't have any regrets. People are going to pay with their lives in this kind of world, I have to protect you."

She closed her eyes and put her head in her hands, "I don't need to be protected."

Red laughed humorlessly and stepped back, "You would have been gang-raped and most likely killed if I hadn't been here; give me a little credit."

She looked up with pain shining in her eyes, then grimaced, "Thank you for saving me."

He tilted his head and nodded, "I will always do what I have to do to keep you safe and alive."

Liz grabbed his hand, then tugged him forward into a hug. She moved her thighs apart so he could stand between them as she pulled him as close as possible, then sighed into his neck and closed her eyes; feeling safe for this one fleeting moment. He rubbed his hands up and down her back soothingly, and buried his face in her neck, leaving little feather-light kisses every so often; his facial hair tickling her skin.

She didn't know how long they stayed that way, but eventually he pulled back slightly and cupped her jaw with his left hand, "Do you think you can walk? We need to go back to the house."

She closed her eyes, then opened them with determination shining in them, "Yes, I'll be fine."

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead softly, then stepped back and helped her off of the desk. She stood on her feet, then swayed for a moment before he put an arm around her waist and began leading her towards the swinging door.

He led her out into the main room, then towards the sliding front doors. What they saw when they reached the front made her blood run cold; there were dozens of Walkers stumbling about aimlessly around the parking lot and by their car.

"Shit", she mumbled. She wasn't exactly in the best shape to be fighting off a Walker hoard, and they didn't have enough bullets to put a dent in that number anyway.

She slid her arm around his waist and squeezed his side lightly, "Do you have any ideas?"

He clenched and unclenched his jaw as he thought over her question, "Those men most likely arrived here in a vehicle, we didn't see one in the parking lot, so I'm assuming that they parked in the back."

Liz nodded, "I think you're right, but don't you think we should gather as many supplies as we can before we leave?"

He bit the inside of his cheek, "Do you feel up to it?"

She squeezed his side once more, then pulled away from him, "I don't have much choice, we need the supplies. I just have a pounding headache, I'll be fine."

Red heaved a sigh, then walked over to where they had thrown a couple of bags on the ground when they had first arrived. He picked them up, then threw one to her, "Gather as much as you can, mostly food if possible, and meet me at the backdoor in ten minutes."

She nodded and turned to walk away, but his words stopped her, "Please be careful, Lizzie, I need you by my side." Tears stung at the corner of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall as she nodded with her back to him, "I will, I think I've learned my lesson."

OOOOOO

Liz filled up her bag as full as she could, then walked slowly back to the swinging door. Her headache was worse than before, and she felt like she might pass out; luckily the bleeding had stopped. Red had been standing there waiting, but quickly walked over and took the bag from her, then put his hand on her elbow, "Are you able to make it, or do you want to sit and rest?"

She took a deep breath, "I'm ok, let's go." He didn't move his hand as they walked through the swinging door and towards a door leading to the outside. When they reached it, Red set both bags down and opened the door slowly. He stuck his head out, looked around for a moment, then turned back to Liz, "There's a van back here, but a few Walkers around. I'm going to go take care of them, then come back to get you."

She nodded and put a hand on his chest, then ran her fingers down his shirt, stopping at his belt, "Be careful, Red, I need you as much as you think you need me."

He reached out and squeezed her arm, then turned and walked out the door. She held her breath as she heard four gunshots go off, then the door opened and he came through quickly and picked up the bags. "Come on, we have to go now. The noise surely attracted more of them, and they'll be here any second." He walked out the door and began running towards the van with a bag in each hand. She followed after him, but didn't feel like she could run without falling down, so she speed walked towards the van.

Suddenly she heard him yell, "Lizzie, behind you!"

She glanced over her shoulder and let out a little scream as she saw a walker a lot closer than she was comfortable with reach out a hand towards her, groaning and growling. She turned and shoved the thing as hard as she could, then made herself jog the rest of the way to the van on unsteady legs. She reached it quickly, then hurriedly closed the door as walkers reached the van and began banging on the windows. Red started it, then drove around the side of the building and into the main parking lot as fast as possible. There were hundreds of walkers ambling towards them, but they were a lot quicker and made it to the road easily.

Liz let out a relieved sigh, then laid her head back on the head rest. She felt sick and light-headed, but knew that she would be taken care of . She felt a hand on her thigh, so she cracked one eye open and looked at Red as he said, "Are you ok? That Walker didn't bite or scratch you did it?"

She shook her head and laced her fingers in his, needing the comfort of another human being, "I shoved it back before it could touch me. Thanks for the warning."

He nodded, then looked back at the road and continued driving back towards the house. She kept her hand in his, then stared out at the devastation as they passed by; it was utterly depressing.

OOOOOO

They pulled into the garage within minutes, and Red pulled his hand away and slid out to grab the bags full of supplies. She got out, then followed behind him as he walked into the kitchen and set the bags down. He dug out two bottles of water, handed her one, then opened his and took a long drink. She hurriedly opened hers and took a drink of the cool water; never had anything tasted so good.

Red set his half-empty bottle down, the began digging through the bags again. After a moment, he pulled out a bottle of Ibuprofen and gave her a small smile, "I think you'll be needing these."

She smiled, feeling relieved, "Yes, it feels like a hammer is pounding into my skull."

He winced and opened the bottle, then took out three pills and handed them to her. She took them, then swallowed them down and groaned in pain; swallowing made her head hurt worse.

He grabbed her hand and led her to the living room then said, "You need to lie down. If you're comfortable enough to lay your head in my lap, I can massage your temples to help ease the pain."

At this point she would try anything. Liz nodded in agreement, then watched as he sat down on their makeshift bed and folded his legs Indian-style. She laid down, then put her head on his lap and tried to relax. He put his fingers on her temples, then began to massage them slowly and deliberately. After only a few minutes, he was already beginning to ease the pain in her skull.

She was almost asleep when they both heard the doorknob to the garage rattle; it was so quiet in the house that any sound carried. Red patted her shoulder for her to sit up, and when she did, he stood up quickly and pulled his gun out. He walked towards the living room doorway slowly, then looked around the corner and waited. The door opened and Red stepped out with his gun raised, "Stop right there."

Liz hurried and walked over to look around the corner as well, then watched as the person in the doorway stepped forward into a patch of sunlight.

It was Dembe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is anyone still reading this? I know it's been a long time since I updated, and I apologize for that. I would really appreciate it if you guys reviewed. I need to know if it's worth it to continue writing this. Thanks so much for reading and I hope you guys have a great day.


	5. Chapter 5

Dembe took a step forward, then promptly collapsed to the wood floor. Red dropped his gun and ran towards Dembe then knelt next to him and began checking for injuries. Liz approached them slowly and said quietly, "Was he bitten?"

Red didn't look up at her as he rolled Dembe to his back. Liz was shocked at his appearance. There were cuts, bruises, and blood..blood everywhere. "I'm quite certain he's not, but I can't be absolutely sure until he regains consciousness so I can ask him. Will you find something to dress his wounds with?"

Liz nodded and walked back into the living room and peeled a sheet away from their bed. She tried to tear it into pieces but she wasn't quite strong enough, so she took it back to Red so he could help her. He stood up and took the sheet from her, then began ripping it into strips. After he finished, he handed them to her and knelt back down and began wiping the blood from his face with his handkerchief. It looked as if he'd been beaten, and Liz wondered how Dembe had ever gotten away from his captors.

Red finished dressing his wounds soon after, then turned to Liz and said, "Help me drag him to the living room. I'm worried that he hasn't regained consciousness."

Liz nodded and picked up Dembe's feet as Red put his hands under his armpits and lifted. Liz did what she could, but Dembe was a large man and very heavy, so by the time they laid him on the bed, they were both breathing heavily. She could smell her sweat, and desperately wished for a shower.

Dembe didn't move as Red pulled his dirty shoes and pants off, then pulled a blanket over the top of him. Liz looked at Red with concern and said, "Why isn't he waking up?"

Red ran a sleeve over his forehead to wipe off the sweat. "I'm not certain. He's been badly beaten, and a few broken ribs I suspect. He may never wake up." Liz didn't want to think about that possibility.

Red continued as Liz stared at Dembe's still form. "It looks like we'll be staying here another night at least. We have enough food and water for a few days..maybe a week if we ration, but we need to find some new clothes. Personally I can't stand the way I smell."

She looked up at him and nodded, "I agree. We passed some houses on our way back, should we go look there?"

He worked his jaw for a moment, then nodded. "I don't like leaving Dembe alone, but I have a feeling that it'll be a while until he wakes up. We need to find some more blankets to make another bed, too."

He stepped close to her and ran his unsoiled fingers softly over her temple then down her jaw. "Are you up for that?"

She still had a headache, but the medicine was beginning to help. "I'll be fine. We need to get moving if we want to get back before dark." She'd always hated that it got dark so early this time of year, and it was going to make things even more difficult for them now.

Red led her into the kitchen and picked up his abandoned water bottle that was still half full. He handed it to her and said, "I hate to waste water, but I need to get this blood off of my hands. Will you pour it over hands in the sink?" She nodded and sidled up close to him, putting one hand on his lower back and the other poised over his bloody hands in the dry metal sink. She poured the water slowly as he scrubbed his hands vigorously under the stream until they were relatively clean. After the water was gone, she put the empty bottle next to her on the counter, but didn't move away from him. She felt comforted by his proximity and was loath to lose that comfort, however fleeting.

When she didn't move away from him, he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into an all-encompassing hug. She laid her head on his shoulder, wrapped her arms tightly around his lower back, and sighed as he ran his hands up and down her back softly. "Lizzie," he said quietly, "What's wrong?"

She took a shaky breath, then blew it out slowly and said, "I feel like this is how it's going to be for the rest of our lives. I don't see an end or solution in sight. How the hell are we going to survive this?"

He turned his head and kissed her temple. "One day at a time. You can't look at the big picture, Lizzie. You won't want to continue trying to live if you do that." He was right of course, but it was easier said than done.

He tried to pull away, but she grabbed his belt loops on the back of his trousers and pulled him back towards her; she wasn't ready for that comforting feeling to go away. They stayed that way for another few minutes until Liz pulled back finally and grimaced. "Sorry."

He reached forward and cupped her jaw with both of his hands, running his thumbs over her cheeks softly. "You don't need to apologize. I imagine that we'll have a lot of moments like these in the coming days, months, years." He leaned down to kiss her cheek, but she turned her head at the last second and he ended up kissing her lips. He pulled back for a second, surprised, but when he saw acceptance on her face, leaned back down and kissed her fully. He moved his lips over hers, applying firm enough pressure for her to want to open her mouth to him, but before she could, he pulled back and said, "As much as I would love to continue this, we have things we need to do. Perhaps we can finish this tonight?" He smirked and rose his eyebrows playfully, but she shook her head and slapped his chest lightly. Leave it to Red to comfort her and provide the comic relief all in a matter of minutes.

He pulled away from her completely and walked into the living room to check on Dembe. Liz pulled out a few more ibuprofen's and put them in her pocket so she could take them later. Red walked back in just as she was finishing and said, "He hasn't moved." He looked worried, but he was clearly trying to hide from her just how worried he actually was.

Liz nodded and walked towards the garage, "Well then let's go and get back before he wakes up."

OOOOOO

Minutes later, Red pulled the van in front of a single-story home with toys strewn across the front yard; it looked to be abandoned. The area was clear of Walkers at the moment, so they both hurried out of the car and walked up to the front door and turned the handle; it was unlocked. Red pushed the door open and brought his gun up as Liz did the same. They did a sweep of the house, but didn't find any of the previous occupants. Liz was glad, but also heartbroken for whomever had lived there. Going through the house confirmed that there were at least three kids in the family, and Liz wondered if they were still alive.

Red found Liz in the kitchen trying to find whatever food they could use. There wasn't much left, but there was some. "It looks like a single mother lived here. There isn't any men's clothing, but there is quite a lot for you to look through. She looked to be close to the same size as you.

Liz rose her eyebrows at him but didn't say anything; not even going to go there and ask how he knew what size of clothing she wore. It shouldn't surprise her really.

She nodded and said, "Why don't you find anything else we can use while I go find some clothes?"

He nodded and took the bag that she held out to him. She made her way into the master bedroom and began searching through the closets. Red was right, most of them were in her size. She pulled everything down from the hangers and laid them on the bed, then emptied all the drawers full of undergarments and socks. The woman's bra size was a lot smaller than Liz's, so she couldn't use those, but everything else she could use. It didn't matter that the clothes looked drab and boring, they would help keep her warm and feeling somewhat clean. She threw everything in the middle of the bed, then wrapped the comforter on the bed around the clothes and used it like a makeshift bag. She carried it back in the living room and found Red searching through a closet in the hallway for blankets. He had a lot of them in his hands, and Liz was glad that most everything was found in the first house they went to; all they needed was clothes for Red.

When he met her in the living room, she smiled and said, "Are you ready?"

He nodded and picked up the bags, then watched as Liz picked up everything else and walked out the door. That's when he heard her scream.

He dropped everything and ran out to see Liz being closed in on three sides by snarling Walkers that were quickly advancing on her. She turned to look at him fearfully. His heart clenched as he grabbed his gun and shot them all in the head before they could reach her. He walked up to her and pulled her into a fierce hug, "Are you ok?"

She nodded, but her breaths were still coming in gasps as she tried to calm herself down. "You've got to remember to check your surroundings," he said in a exasperated tone.

"I know. It was like the house sheltered everything and I forgot for a moment about the hell that we're living in." She couldn't tear her eyes away from the rotting corpse that was lying at her feet. He ran his hand through her hair once, then pulled away from her and picked up the things he had dropped; she hadn't ever let go of the things she held. They made their way quickly to the van, glad that the gunfire hadn't attracted more of them.

They sat in the van for a few moments, waiting for their adrenaline to wear down a bit before they searched the next house. "We need to find other weapons. I'm down to my last few bullets, and I imagine it's the same for you," Red said in a low voice.

She nodded, "I don't have many left. What can we use though?"

He looked at her, "Anything that will pierce the brain. Hammers, swords, knives etc."

"Let's go to the next house, and we can look for those things too."

He turned the car on and drove until they came to the next house. This one was nicer than the first. Two-storied with a circle drive-way and a well-manicured yard. Red pulled into the circle drive and killed the engine. They both stepped out of the car simultaneously, and jogged to the front door with their guns raised. Red tried the door, but unfortunately it was locked. He pointed behind her and they both ran down the sidewalk and to the side door; that one was locked too.

"Red, I'm sure there are still people here. I don't want to run into anyone if we can help it." She shuddered at the memory of those foul men that almost did unspeakable things to her for the sake of entertainment.

He bit the inside of his cheek, but nodded eventually. "Let's move on to the next one then."

They ran back to the car without incident, then drove to the next house down the line. This one was a lot like the first one, and Liz and Red found what they needed quickly. The men's clothes they found were going to be too big on Red, but no so much that he couldn't make them work. They found a hammer in a work room, and pulled all the knives from the kitchen drawers.

They were in and out in a matter of minutes and ran back to the van. Just as Red pulled away from the curb, a man ran limping towards them, waving his arms. She looked at Red to see if he would stop, but he just shook his head at the man and began driving away. The man reached the van and began hitting the windows while screaming, "Please! You have to help us. My daughter was bitten by one of those monsters!"

Red stomped on the accelerator and left the man behind quickly. She looked in the side-view mirror to see the man on his knees, sobbing; she felt horrible. "Red, maybe we-"

He put his hand on her thigh and shook his head, "We can't help every poor soul that comes along. We have to take care of ourselves." He was right, but she hoped to hell that they never needed help and came upon strangers that refused to help them; that would be the epitome of karma.

OOOOOO

When they returned to the house, they found it undisturbed; Dembe still hadn't moved an inch.

They brought all their new finds into the kitchen and organized everything. They had a lot of clothes and enough food to last the three of them for a few weeks. They had also picked up a first-aid kit and toiletries like deodorant and toilet paper.

They shared a meal of cold beans and stale bread, then went in and dressed Dembe's wounds with Neosporin and sterile bandages. After they finished with him, they made up another bed with the new blankets and pillows they'd found, then changed into a fresh pair of clothes (Her, a pair of short shorts and a tank top, and him just a pair of flannel pants), brushed their teeth and laid down in the bed together.

He ran a hand over her side and looked at her with soft eyes, "Thank you for helping with Dembe."

Liz nodded, "Of course, I consider him a friend, too."

She closed her eyes sleepily, but opened them again when Red began to pull her body closer to his. "What are you doing?"

He smiled, "I told you that I wanted to continue what we started in the kitchen earlier."

"But Red, Dembe is-"

He cut the rest of her sentence off with his mouth as he kissed her and pulled her lower body flush with his. He traced her bottom lip with his tongue, and when she opened her mouth, moved it inside and explored her mouth thoroughly. She moaned when his hand brushed over her abdomen, every nerve suddenly on fire from his touch. The moan seemed to urge him on as he moved his body on top of hers and began to kiss down her neck, nipping and placing open-mouth kisses all the way down to the top of her breasts. She ran her hands over the top of short-cropped hair and scratched his neck lightly with her fingernails as he hit a particularly sensitive spot with his mouth. She could feel how much he wanted her as he moved straddle her, then began to push up her shirt with his hands.

She grabbed his wrists and said, "Red, don't you think we should talk about this first? You acted like hardly even liked me the last few months, and now you do suddenly?"

He sighed and moved his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. She ran her thumbs over the top of his wrists and waited for him to explain himself. After a moment, he finally looked her in the eyes and said, "Would you believe me if I told you that I was distancing myself because I felt like I was getting too close to you? I didn't deserve you, still don't, but I hoped that by distancing myself, you would find someone closer to your age that's not a wanted criminal." She believed him.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I don't care about those things? The heart wants, what the heart wants. Who am I to question it?" She pulled on his wrists until he laid himself over the top of her again; he didn't display any reluctance. She kissed his jaw, then his temple as he put his face in her neck and left feather-light kisses there.

Just as he reached her mouth again, they heard a low moan from behind them.

Dembe was awake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while since I last updated. I apologize for that. This is dedicated to 7ases7years and jessahmewren who pushed me to update this. Thanks for the kick in the butt ladies! Thanks so much for the comments and kudos, I really do appreciate them. I would love to know if people are still enjoying this, so please let me know what you think! :)


	6. Chapter 6

Red stood up quickly, then reached a hand down to help her up. As soon as she was on her feet, he picked up a flashlight and moved over to Dembe and knelt next to him. "Dembe." Dembe's eyes fluttered, but didn't open as he continued to groan quietly. Liz knelt on his other side and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Dembe, it's Liz and Red. You're safe, wake up."

Dembe turned his head towards the sound of her voice and furrowed his eyebrows. She squeezed his shoulder, and he cracked his eyes open then closed them again. Red reached down and patted his arm, then said to Liz, "Will you get him some water?"

Liz nodded and took the flashlight from him, then walked into the kitchen and plucked a new bottle of water out of one of the bags. When she came back into the room, she found Red leaning over Dembe trying to inspect the wounds on his chest and abdomen with a tiny mag light. She handed him the flashlight and water bottle and took the mag from him, then waited for him to check over Dembe's injuries with a better light.

"How do his injuries look?"

He grimaced. "Some of the lacerations look infected, and there is deep bruising around his ribs. I'm not certain there's anything we can do."

Liz walked back around and took her earlier place. "I'm pretty sure I found some antibiotics in one of the houses, but I'm not familiar with the names. Do you want to go look?"

Red nodded and stood up then walked out of the room. She tried not to admire his body in his undressed state while his best friend was lying on the ground in bad shape, but found herself doing it anyway.

She started to speak to Dembe, trying to coax him to open his eyes. She set the light on its end, and could barely make out his face, but it was better than nothing. She picked up the water bottle, then put her arm under his neck and lifted slightly. "I have some water here, you need to drink at least a little bit. Nod if you understand."

Dembe gave her a slight nod and she tipped a tiny amount of water into his mouth, then repeated it a few times until Red walked back in the room with a pill bottle in his had. She gave him a small smile and said, "So there were some in there?"

He nodded. "They've been expired for six months, so I'm not sure how effective they'll be, but we can definitely try." He opened the bottle and took a small pill out, then said to to his friend. "Dembe, I'm going to put a pill in your mouth and Lizzie is going to pour some more water in after that. Do you understand?"

Dembe nodded again, and Red put the pill in, then Liz poured in a small amount of water. As Dembe tried to swallow, he coughed a little and began to gag. Liz put the bottle down and began to massage his throat to help him swallow. After a few seconds, it seemed to go down and Dembe let his head flop a little to the side. Liz laid him back down gently and looked at Red with concern; his expression mirrored hers.

Liz stood up and gestured with her head for Red to follow her to the kitchen. When they were out of earshot she said quietly, "You don't think he's going to make it do you?"

Red stepped closer and put his hand on the counter behind her, then leaned in a whispered, "It doesn't look good. I'm not certain he's going to ma-"

He was cut off by a loud bang on the window from the living room. Liz jumped so badly that she knocked heads with Red. "Shit!" Liz yelled at the same time Red grimaced and rubbed his chin in obvious pain. She mumbled an apology as they both made their way quickly into the living room to see what had made the noise. Red shined the light at the window and saw a Walker moving around in front of the window. As soon as it saw the light, it moved back to the window and began to hit its body against it. Red turned to her and handed her the flashlight, then moved over to his clothes and began to pull them on. "I'm going to go outside and take care of it before it attracts more attention."

Liz shook her head vehemently, "Red, it's too dangerous."

Red finished tying his shoe then stood up and framed her face with his hands. "Lizzie, I'll be fine. I don't plan on going anywhere. If I don't kill it now it will attract unwanted attention; It's just one of them right now."

Liz furrowed her eyebrows and nodded in defeat. He smiled softly and leaned down to kiss her firmly on the mouth, then pulled back and squeezed her shoulder and went into the kitchen and picked up a long carving knife.

He stopped in the doorway of the living room and gave Liz a reassuring nod, then began walking towards the garage. Liz listened to the sounds of him opening and closing the door, then everything was quiet again besides Dembe's labored breathing below her. She walked up to the window and turned the flashlight off so she could see outside. As her eyes adjusted, they widened in horror as all she saw in front of her was a sea of moving bodies moving towards the house. She clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle the scream, then turned and quickly pulled her clothes on. Just as she finished, she heard the door open and close, then Red's hurried footsteps as he ran into the living room with wide eyes. "Lizzie, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm afraid we're going to have to leave. Now."

Liz stood up and nodded. "I saw. We're not going to be able to take the car are we?"

Red shook his head with a grim look on his face. "I don't think so. There are hundreds, if not thousands of them."

Liz blinked back the tears that were blurring her vision and nodded resolutely. "Then we'll go on foot." Dembe coughed below them and Liz groaned quietly. She had temporarily forgotten about Dembe. He was a large man and she didn't know how they were going to carry him while carrying their supplies too. As if he could sense what she was thinking Red said, "Go reduce our supplies to two bags while I try to rouse Dembe." She knew he would refuse to leave Dembe, but she just didn't see how it was going to be possible to bring him.

She picked up two bags and began to pile all the necessities in them while listening to Red speak to Dembe. She heard Dembe cough a few times and try to say something, but she couldn't tell what was being said between the two. She put clothes and toiletries in one bag, piling as much as she could inside it before zipping it closed. In the other bag she put food, water, medication and weapons in. After finishing, she took stock of all the things they would have to leave behind and sighed heavily; they wouldn't last long without finding more supplies soon. She suddenly wished they weren't in such a rural area; it was going to be difficult to find somewhere safe to stay.

The walkers were banging on the window loudly, and she prayed the windows would last a little while longer.

She walked back in the living room and saw that Dembe had his eyes open and was sitting up with a pained look on his face; his skin was gray and ashen. Red was attempting to get his shirt back on, but was having trouble doing so. Liz walked over and helped him, and together they managed to get it back on without hurting Dembe too badly. She patted his shoulder and said, "It's good to see you up."

He looked at her and nodded, but didn't say anything. Red looked at her with soft eyes. "Is everything ready to go?"

She nodded. "Yes, we need to go befo-"

A loud crack sounded through the room and they looked over to see the large bay window begin to buckle under the constant barrage of bodies and hands hitting against it. "We need to go now!" She yelled and hurried to help Dembe up. Together they managed to get him on his feet, although he was unsteady and beginning to sweat with the effort. With a pinched look on his face, they began to move towards the garage door. "Red, I need to grab the bags. I'm going to let go for a second."

She moved away from Dembe and watched him lean heavily against Red, then grabbed the bags quickly off the counter and swung one of them over Red's free shoulder. She put the other on her own shoulder, then moved under Dembe and took half of his weight back; he was so heavy. The window behind them began to fall apart, and she could hear the groans and moans of the walkers behind them.

When Liz felt somewhat situated, she said to Red, "I'm ready, let's move." They all began a slow walk towards the door as the window broke completely and the sound of bodies hitting the floor began to ring out. They picked up their pace and reached the door, then walked clumsily through it and shut it behind them; they were already breathing heavily. After resting for a minute or two in silence, Red leaned around Dembe and looked at Liz. "Are you ok, sweetheart?"

Liz swallowed and nodded. She wasn't, but she didn't have much choice. "I'm fine, let's concentrate on getting somewhere safe. I'm not sure how long Dembe is going to last on his feet." She looked up at him and grimaced at the sweat pouring down his face.

Red nodded and said, "There's a door in the garage that leads to the backyard. Hopefully the walkers haven't made their way back there yet." They began to walk slowly with the only sounds being Dembe's breathing and the muffled sounds of walkers in the distance accompanying them. As they reached the door to the outside, Red cracked it open and pulled away from Dembe slightly to look outside. Dembe began to sag against her and she grunted under the strain of his full weight on her; he must outweigh her by at least eighty or ninety pounds. She braced herself and watched Red's shoulders for an indication of what it looked like outside. When they didn't tense up, she sighed in relief; they must be in the clear.

Red pulled back and looked at her. "It's clear, save for a few that are wandering around. I'm certain we can get past them without attracting their attention." He set his bag down and continued, "What bag has the weapons in them?"

She squinted in the darkness and said, "I think you have it."

Red knelt and opened the bag, then rummaged around carefully and pulled out two knives. He handed her one, then zipped the bag back up and put it back on his shoulder. "Do either of you need to rest?"

Both Dembe and Liz shook their heads at the same time, and Red nodded. "If you're sure, then let's carry on." He pulled Dembe's left arm around his shoulder and took his half back, then began leading them out the door.

As soon as the cold air hit them, Liz shivered. It had to be in the low forties, and they hadn't had time to put anything warm on. Great. They walked over the still short grass, then past the property lines of the house into a field. Liz tried to keep an eye on the walkers that were wandering around them, but found that she couldn't concentrate on much besides keeping herself and Dembe in an upright position; it was exhausting.

As they passed through the long grass and weeds of the field, something grabbed her foot and caused her to fall. She didn't have time to brace her hands and the knife that she was holding in her right hand pierced her side. "Shit!" She yelled, as she tried not to move too much; it seemed the knife had only gone through the fleshy part of her side, but it still hurt like hell. She watched Red set Dembe down, then hurry over to her and crouch beside her. She was still on her stomach, so she moved her head to say something to him when they both heard the telltale groaning sounds. She glanced over her shoulder and saw a corpse with half of its face and skin missing reach for her foot with its jaw wide open. She tried to move her foot, but it jostled her side so much that it was excruciating and she couldn't move it more than a couple of inches. She yelled for Red to kill it, but he was already almost there with his knife raised above his head. Just as he began to bring the knife down on the walkers head, the corpse clamped down on her shoe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gad, I know its taken me forever to update this fic. I'm so sorry about that. This chapter is dedicated to jadenanne7. A deal is a deal, so here's me fulfilling my part. ;) I would love to know everyone's thoughts on this. Too boring? The plot too slow? Please review, it's the only way I can improve. Thanks for reading. :)


	7. Chapter 7

She screamed as Red's knife went through the Walker's head. Its hold on her shoe loosened immediately, and she gathered enough strength to kick it away from her; only letting out a small grunt of pain as she turned her body to the side so she could look at her wound. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she focused on the knife sticking out of her side. Every small movement caused a cascade of pain all the way up and back down her body. "Red," she choked out.

He was by her side immediately, running his fingers through her hair in comfort as he prodded the injury softly with his other hand. She clenched her jaw as she laid her head down on her right arm and waited for him to finish.

After a few moments, his fingers stopped and he leaned down to speak in her ear. "I'm going to have to pull it out, Lizzie. It won't be pleasant, but I need you to stay as still as possible." She nodded against her arm and said through clenched teeth, "Do what you have to do, but just do it now."

He leaned away from her, putting his mag light in his mouth and applying more pressure to the top of her head as he grabbed the handle and pulled it out quickly. She sobbed quietly, the pain greater than she had ever remembered feeling; including the burn on her wrist.

His fingers left her head as he grabbed a bottle of peroxide and an ace bandage out of the bag sitting next to him. Then he turned back to her and lifted her shirt up so he could see the wound. It looked clean, but blood was already beginning to pour out. He rolled her to her back and poured the peroxide into her wound. Her fingers clenched around his bicep painfully as she tried not to cry out. He finished disinfecting it, then grabbed a towel out of the other bag and wiped the blood away as best he could. He proceeded to wrap the ace bandage around her waist as tightly as he could so the bleeding would stop, or at least slow down, then he pushed her down to lie on her back so she could rest for a moment.

Tears continued to roll down her face as she looked up at him with pain glazed eyes and pinched features. He held her hand and sat next to her while keeping his ears open for any strange sounds. Her breathing eventually evened out, and Red took the opportunity to check on Dembe. Who was either asleep or passed out, judging by his still form.

Red squeezed Liz's hand, then quietly reassured her he would be back. He stood up, then approached Dembe and checked his pulse. It was strong, but he wouldn't wake up, no matter how many times Red said his name or shook his shoulder. He sat back on his haunches and rubbed a tired hand over his face. Things were worse than before. Liz was injured now, and she wouldn't be able to help him with Dembe. He didn't know if she would be able to walk far herself.

He stood up and surveyed the area they were in. It was a corn field; the stalks were long, so he couldn't see anything over the top of them. He figured there might be a barn or a shed close by, so he stood back up and sat back down next to Liz. She had her eyes closed and a hand over her wound, but her breathing was slow and steady; he wondered if she had fallen asleep.

Just as he opened his mouth to say something, her eyes blinked open slowly. He ran his fingers over her cheek softly and said, "I need to find somewhere where we can hole up for the night. You won't be able to go far, and Dembe won't wake up."

She grabbed his thigh and shook her head. "No, we need to stick to together," she rasped out. Her throat raw from screaming and holding in her screams. He covered her hand on his thigh and shook his head. "Lizzie, you know I wouldn't leave unless it was absolutely necessary. We're vulnerable right now. We don't have the kind of protection we need."

She closed her eyes in defeat. He knew she was thinking over his words, trying to come up with a good reason for him to say. She eventually opened them back up and nodded reluctantly. He was proud of her though; there wasn't any fear in her eyes.

He reached behind him and took his gun out of the back of his pants and handed it to her. She took it, but with protest. "Red, you're going to need this worse than I am."

He shook his head and covered both of her hands holding the gun. "No, I'm not going to argue about this any longer. Time is getting short. I have a knife, I'll be fine."

She sighed loudly, then grimaced at the pain that it caused as she reached up and ran her fingers lightly over his scruffy jaw. "Be careful, Red."

He leaned over her and hovered his face inches from hers. "I will. You need to stay alive, Lizzie. You hear me? When I come back you and Dembe better still be alive."

She nodded and traced her fingers over his lips. "You better come back."

He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, deepening it momentarily, then pulled back with a soft smile on his face. "I'll always come back if it's in my power, sweetheart. Don't ever doubt that."

Tears began to leak out of the corners of her eyes again as he pressed another kiss to her lips and pulled away reluctantly; he didn't want to do anything but lie next to her and make sure she was OK, but he didn't have a choice.

He checked her bandage once more, then stood up and told her once again to listen for any strange sounds and walked away while he still could. He would have to do hard things in this kind of world, and this was only the beginning. He couldn't let his emotions sway him one way or the other. He needed to keep the people he cared most about safe. That was all that mattered.

OOOOOO

Red walked through the dead and dried up corn stalks slowly. Every odd sound had him turning and searching in the darkness for a Walker or an animal. He was a mess. His only thoughts were of Liz and Dembe and how quickly he could get back to them.

He had walked for at least a good half hour when he reached the end of the cornfield. He stepped over an old, run down fence and stood on dirt road lined with tall trees. Looking both directions, he didn't see anything moving or out of place, so he turned back to face the cornfield and squinted in the darkness for anything resembling a building. All he saw was the tops of the corn stalks. There wasn't anything rising above them.

"Dammit," he whispered as he put his hands on his hips. He didn't want to walk down the road for fear that he would become disoriented and not be able to find his way back to Liz, so he stepped back over the fence and began the walk back. He'd already been away for longer than he liked, and knew she was going to be disappointed by the news. They would have to move further into the cornfield and hope for the best until daylight came. He brought up his watch and pushed the light button. It was only 2:00 AM; it was going to be a long night.

He walked for another fifteen minutes without incident when suddenly a three gunshots rang out. He stopped and listened for more, but there were none; that's when he realized there were only three bullets left in that gun. He took off at a sprint, the corn stalks whipping his face and body, but he barely felt them as adrenaline coursed through his body.

The only thing running over and over in his mind was: faster, faster, faster.

OOOOOO

He skidded to a halt ten minutes later and widened his eyes in horror at the scene in front of him.

There were three dead Walkers on the ground where Liz had been, and three other Walkers making a meal out of Dembe.

Dembe was dead.

He couldn't seem to comprehend that. He gripped the knife in his hand tightly and ran to the Walkers that were chewing on various parts of Dembe's body, stabbing all three in the head over and over until his rage had subsided. Those bastards had just killed his best friend. His confidant. His protector.

Red had failed him.

He knelt next to Dembe's half-eaten body and closed his eyes as tears welled up in his eyes. He couldn't cry now. Not when he still needed to find Liz and get them to safety. Not while there were other Walkers probably making their way over to his position. He cursed loudly and brought the knife up slowly. He needed to put a knife through Dembe's skull so he wouldn't turn into one of those _things_.

He took a shaky breath and plunged the knife down. The sound of it alone made bile rise up in his throat.

Red pulled the knife out and wiped it on the tattered clothing of a Walker lying next to him, then stood up and picked up some downed corn stalks and laid them over Dembe's body. He wished he could bury him, but time was short, so this would have to do. He whispered the prayer he had recited with Dembe during the Anslo Garrick fiasco, then said, "I'll see you in the next life, my friend."

He furiously wiped a few stray tears that had fallen on his cheeks and turned around. He needed to find Liz and get the hell out of here. He quickly repacked their bags and hoisted them on his shoulders, then stopped to listen once more.

All he heard was the moaning of Walkers and the rustling of corn stalks all around. He felt like he was being closed in on all sides. "Lizzie," he whispered urgently.

No response.

"Elizabeth," he said a little louder. Still nothing.

"Elizabeth Keen, answer me dammit!" He yelled that at the top of his lungs, knowing he was endangering himself further.

"Red." Came a quiet reply in front of him. He walked forward carefully and continued to call her name, while she answered him back. Her voice became louder as he approached her.

When he finally reached her, she was slumped against a wood post with tear filled eyes. "I'm so sorry, Red," she sobbed. "I tried to save him, I really did. There were just too many."

He dropped their bags to the ground and knelt next to her to pull her into a hug, careful of her injured side. "There was nothing you could do. I don't blame you." He whispered that into her ear while caressing her back until her crying ceased, broken occasionally by a hiccup.

Once she had herself under control, she pulled back from him and grimaced. "I think I've lost a lot of blood, Red. I had to stand up and run, I might have made things worse; I feel like I'm going to pass out."

He laid her down carefully on the dirt and pulled her shirt up. The bandage and surrounding skin was covered with blood. "Son of a bitch," he mumbled as he unraveled the bandage and fresh blood began to seep out of the wound again. He looked at her to ask her a question, but her eyes were closed; she was already out.

He slapped her cheek lightly to make sure she wasn't just asleep, but when she didn't wake up, he quickly stood up and walked over to their bags. There was a suture kit in one first aid boxes they had found. He'd given himself stitches quite a few times, he could definitely do a passing job on her.

He brought his supplies and a clean towel over and set them down next to her, then situated everything how he needed them. He poured rubbing alcohol over the needle and thread, then over his hands and kneeled down next to her wound. It looked angry and inflamed in the bright moonlight overhead. He began to work quickly, knowing that they would be discovered soon. It didn't help that thoughts of Dembe kept creeping into his mind; he had to push them back, he needed to concentrate.

He was halfway finished when he heard the inevitable groaning sounds coming from behind him. They were out of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *sobs* poor Dembe. :(..It was such a hard decision to kill him, but he was too badly injured. Don't throw anything. *ducks behind computer*. That being said, I'm sorry its taken me so long to update this. I do plan to finish all of my fics, I promise. I would love to hear what you think about this chapter, and the overall story. Have a great day! :)


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